MSU Graduates 2nd Largest Class of Student Athletes

The
second-largest group of student-athletes on record will participate in
three spring commencement ceremonies scheduled for Friday, May 17 at JQH
Arena on the Missouri State
University campus here.

Seventy-nine
current and former Bear athletes will be recognized for completing
their undergraduate and graduate degrees during the spring semester.

Friday’s
ceremonies will be conducted at 9 a.m. (College of Humanities and
Public Affairs, McQueary College of Health and Human Services), 1 p.m.
(College of Arts & Letters, College of Natural
and Applied Sciences, College of Education) and 5 p.m. (College of
Business, Darr College of Agriculture, and Interdisciplinary Academic
Programs).

For
the second year in a row, students who will complete their degree
requirements during the summer will also be allowed to participate in
spring commencement. Including the 17 student-athletes
expected to graduate in August — and the aforementioned 79 spring
graduates — 96 participants in the May ceremony are the largest single
ceremony total on record for MSU Athletics.

During
the 2018-19 academic year, another record total of 140 Missouri State
student-athletes will have completed their degrees. That total includes
18 who finished their degree programs in August
2018, 43 from December 2018 and 79 from the May 2019 class.

Over
the last 10 years, MSU commencement exercises have seen 1,038
student-athletes complete their degrees, while 394 former Bears have
graduated over the past three years alone. This is the
fifth consecutive year with 100 or more graduating student-athletes.

The
top commencement ceremonies on record for Missouri State Athletics are:
May 2017 (81), May 2019** (79), May 2015 (73), May 2018** (71), May
2006 (64), May 2016 (63), May 2004 (61), May 2009
(61), May 2014 (60), May 2005 (59).

Football
(18), women’s track and field (11), women’s swimming and diving (9),
and men’s soccer (9) led all sports in terms of individuals graduating
this spring and summer.

The 2019 spring and summer commencement list also includes 24 MSU student-athletes graduating with academic honors.

Missouri
State University will confer a total of 2,941 degrees to students at
its spring 2019 commencement bachelor’s degrees, including 2,285
bachelor’s degrees, 551 master’s degrees, 96 doctorate
degrees and nine specialist degrees Friday. Beyond the standard
expectations, the university will recognize 116 students for their work
with a more rigorous curriculum in Missouri State’s Honors College. The
university will recognize 164 students who will
graduate summa cum laude, 208 who will graduate magna cum laude, and
382 who will graduate cum laude.